Victory
by fyd818
Summary: :Entanglements prequel: Some might say Temari had reached the pinnacle of her life this night. But she knew better - she knew the best was yet to come. :Itachi x Temari:


Disclaimer: I don't own _Naruto_ , nor any places, things, characters, or ideas therein. The aforementioned belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Viz Media, _Shounen Jump_ , TV Tokyo, etc. I am writing this fic for entertainment purposes only, not monetary gain.

Summary: :Entanglements prequel: Some might say Temari had reached the pinnacle of her life this night. But she knew better - she knew the best was yet to come. :Itachi x Temari:

Rating: K+

Warnings: Mild talk about having children in the future

Pairing(s): Itachi/Temari

Universe: AU

Prequel to: _Solo Tu (Only You)_ , and _Entanglements_

 **Author's Note:** I knew when I finished up _Entanglements_ that this story had to be written. Temari's story within that one had hinted at so many things, and I felt they could all be encapsulated so well into this one story, this one event that was so very important in her life at the time. I really enjoyed writing this, and while it's not my last foray into the _Entanglements_ universe, it's certainly one of my favorites. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks for reading!

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 ***~Victory~***

 _.:fyd818:._

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"Game, set, match, Ms. Sabaku-Uchiha!"

Temari fell to her knees on the court, the chair ump's words ringing in her ears as the capacity crowd at Arthur Ashe stadium erupted in deafening cheers and applause. For a moment she sat there, racquet braced against the court, just soaking in the accolades pouring down upon her from above. _I did it_ , she thought, almost giddily. _I actually did it!_

Pushing to her feet, Temari jogged across her half of the court to the net to meet her opponent. Reaching across the mesh separation, she grasped Komatsu Karui's hand and pulled the other woman into a hug. " _Great_ match," she told her, truly meaning it. The match had not been easy by any stretch of the imagination, as she'd hoped it wouldn't. She liked a challenge, and Karui had given it to her in spades.

Karui pulled back with a smile, her golden eyes alight with admiration and respect. "Thanks. You too. And congratulations - you really do deserve this." She took the lead to shake the chair ump's hand, then went to sit in her chair while Temari took her turn, smiling her acceptance of the referee's praise.

Dropping her racquet by her own chair, Temari walked back out to the center of the court so she could wave and bow to the crowd. Tears pushed against the back of her eyes, clogging her throat, but she swallowed them back.

She vaguely realized security was right behind her as she jogged over to the edge of the court, toward her private player's box. Using a handy flower box mounted into the wall to get up and over the wall, she tumbled into the welcoming arms of her coach, Baki.

"Congratulations, kid," he said, grinning widely as he gave her a hug. "You've worked hard, and it paid off. _Big_ time."

As soon as Baki let go of her, Temari's brothers descended on her.

"Tem!" Kankuro, the older of the two, grabbed her in a hug so tight it nearly cracked her ribs. "I can't believe it! You did it, you did it!"

As if he needed to tell her! Laughing, Temari kept one arm around Kankuro as she reached out to draw Gaara, the youngest and shyest of the three, into the group hug. "Thanks," she replied, unable to erase the wide grin which was actually kind of starting to hurt her cheeks.

Gaara hugged her briefly before pulling away. "Good job," he said quietly. He'd never been overly verbose or prone to displays of affection, but Temari saw the pride gleaming in his pale green eyes. It meant more to her than a whole speech or a slew of hugs would have.

And then she turned, and her husband was there. Tears finally began to fall as she threw herself into his arms, laughing and crying simultaneously as Itachi squeezed her tightly and rocked her back and forth. She felt a tear or two of his own fall against her neck, his smile wide and warm against her skin.

"'Mari, you're amazing," he breathed. He'd said the same thing to her many times before, but Temari felt like she'd actually earned the praise this time. "I love you. I love you so much."

Temari clung to him for another minute, using his arms around her and the feel of his solid strength against her to reassure herself this was real. She wasn't dreaming. She'd just achieved the unachievable. "I love you, too."

Eventually they had to let go of each other, and Temari accepted the congratulations, hugs, and handshakes of the rest of her friends in the player's box. Security had shown up again, and they carefully escorted her through a section of the bleachers and back down to the court, where Karui sipped from a bottle of water, grinning, while she waited for Temari's re-emergence on the court.

While Temari had been occupied with her coach, family, and friends, the court had been transformed. The ball kids formed neat rows on one side of the net, and on the other, everything was ready for the trophy presentation which would soon commence. The crowd still buzzed with excitement, and the sound of it vibrated through her bones, feeding on her own kind of disbelieving giddiness.

 _I did it! I did it!_ At that moment she didn't feel twenty-seven years old at all. As a matter of fact, she felt like she had back when she was a seventeen-year-old upstart who burst onto the tennis scene to dominate the court and win her first Slam, the French Open. But in that moment, she'd felt far older and wiser, so she supposed it all circled back around in the end.

After the usual speeches, Temari was presented with her trophy. She cradled its cool, solid weight against her chest, hugging it as she and Karui posed for pictures. The wide grin on her face was bound to look silly, but right then, she really didn't care. She felt like she'd waited her whole life for this moment, and oh, it had been more than worth the wait.

Temari allowed her attention to wander a bit as Karui willingly submitted to her interview as the second-place player. This was her twenty-third Slam in a decade, another in a countless number of wins in matches and tournaments across the world, but it was also so much more than that. It was more than just another ticked box, another mark on her calendar. It was her dream, it was history, it was everything she'd ever dreamed of but never dared hope for come into fruition.

Karui stepped back with a grin and wave, and then it was Temari's turn for an interview.

"First of all, I have to know - how do you feel?" The female reporter whose name Temari just couldn't remember grinned, her eyes alight with curiosity and perhaps a little bit of awe.

Shrugging, Temari leaned into the mic and laughed. "Tired," she admitted. "Karui really pushed me, especially in that third set. But I think above all I feel _accomplished_. This is something I've dreamed of, and let's face it - this opportunity hardly ever comes around. I'm in a state of disbelief, I think."

The reporter laughed along with her. "I can understand why. You're the first woman - the first _person_ \- to win a Golden Slam since Steffi Graff in 1988. Not only did you win an Olympic gold medal this year, you won all four Slams: the Australian, the French, Wimbledon, and _now_ the U.S. Open. Add to all that the amazing fact you've done this all while being undefeated this entire season, only dropping _eight_ sets the whole year - including the one in this final - and it's caused a lot of people to say you're at the top of your game, possibly the greatest player ever!"

Feeling her cheeks flush, Temari shrugged again, suddenly feeling uncharactaristically shy. "I've heard the words bandied about, but to be honest, as fantastic as that makes me feel, I don't know if I agree. I think there's _always_ room for improvement, which is one thing I love about this game. It always stretches me, makes me think and work and try to be that little bit better. So am I at the top of my game? Maybe. But who's to say, really?"

Nodding, the ponytailed brunette interviewing her pulled the mic back to herself. "A truly humble and admirable stance to take," she complimented Temari. "And now, I have to ask the question that's bound to be on the mind of millions across the world: Now that you have a Golden Slam and undefeated season under your belt, where do you plan to go from here?"

It was a question Temari had halfway been expecting, but at the same time dreading. In that moment she saw everything with absolute clarity - the flashing lights of the cameras, the excited faces of the audience, the expectant expression on the reporter's face.

And yet she saw so much more than that. Temari had reached a pinnacle this night, in her career and in her life. Deep in her heart, she knew it could not be matched or surpassed. She could try for the rest of her life, but this feeling, this moment, could not be replicated.

It frightened her in a way she had never been before in her life, even when she had been faced with the worst losses in her career. Being down 0-6, 0-5, with match point hovering on her opponent's racquet - as rare as such brutal, sweeping losses had been for her - had not caused such a bone-deep, all-consuming terror like the one which gripped her in that moment.

Even as she prayed her true feelings weren't playing across her face for the world to see, Temari knew what she had to do. Lifting her face to the camera and pasting a smile on her face, she drew in a deep breath and spoke the irrevocable words which would change her life forever.

"I have enjoyed my time in tennis, and am very thankful for every single player who has helped me play so many memorable matches. But, as much as I love this sport, there are things I love more. I want to spend more time with my husband, and I want a family. Thank you."

Shocked murmurs, building to shouts, echoed around her as Temari gave one last wave and smile to the cameras. Then she turned and headed across the court, knowing the bombshell she'd just dropped on the court would have ramifications stretching far into the future. She tasted the smoke of her explosive announcement of her retirement as she quickly gathered up as many of her things as she could carry, letting a thoughtful guard pick up the few remaining things as she hugged the trophy to her side and walked at a calm, measured pace for the door leading off the court to solitude.

Exhaustion swept through her the moment she was out of sight of the crowd. But Temari refused to allow her shoulders to slump as she made her way to the locker room, where she quickly showered and dressed in a comfortable pair of sweatpants and a hoodie she was ninety-nine percent sure was Itachi's.

Due to the lateness of the hour, thanks to the rain delay which had caused the women's championship to start almost six hours after originally scheduled, Temari knew she'd be able to avoid most interviews tonight. But tomorrow the real clamor would start, when her scheduled appearances and interviews across the media would hound her endlessly, all of them with questions about her retirement foremost on their minds and lips.

No matter what had really caused her to announce that retirement - the cause of which even Temari was surprised by - she would stick to what she'd said on the court. It wasn't like she'd lied then, not at all. She _did_ want to spend more time with Itachi, who she knew had put his own needs and wants behind her own in his effort to help her to this point in her life and career. And she wanted children; oh, she wanted them so badly she could almost feel the weight of a baby in her arms. She didn't want to try to juggle a tennis career and a baby at the same time.

She didn't want her child's needs and wants to suffer because of her mother's obsession the same way her husband's had. She couldn't do that to two people in her life. It was plenty bad enough she'd done it to one, though Itachi had never let a word or a sign of any disappointment or distress he felt pass his lips. He was selfless, and Temari didn't deserve him.

But it made her love him all the more nonetheless.

He was waiting for her when she exited the building almost an hour later, after accepting more accolades from her peers. Although she could tell they were all burning with curiosity, they held their tongues and did nothing more than congratulate her on her accomplishments. She reluctantly handed over her most recent trophy to be engraved with her name, then joined Itachi in braving the crowd of fans and reporters lining the walk to their limo.

Once settled in the luxurious car, with his arms around her and her head on his chest, he finally spoke one word. "Retirement?" His voice made it clear he wasn't sure whether to feel amused or bemused.

Temari forced her tired lids upwards. "It's not like we haven't discussed it before," she retorted, without heat.

"Yes, but that was always in the future. I'm not saying I don't understand - heaven knows I want the same things you do, and I would never go against anything you want or what would make you happy. I'm just surprised you want to end it all now, after such a mind-blowing accomplishment." His hand smoothed up and down her back, his touch light, soothing, reassuring.

She hummed, comforted as always by Itachi's own special brand of peaceful assurance. "Why not now?" she murmured. "Isn't this how we all want to go out - in a blaze of glory, at the top of it all, remembered as the best there ever was?" Temari was neither egotistical nor pragmatic. Many players had far more wins in the Open Era than she, thus she thought of them as far better than herself, even with the Golden Slam; but she couldn't help feeling a _little_ bit proud of herself. Even of her choice.

"It'll certainly set tongues to wagging," Itachi agreed dryly. "You'll be the talk of the tennis world for a long time to come, my love." His hand shifted to her hair, pulling free the ties she'd put there earlier so he could comb his fingers through her damp golden curls. "No matter what anyone says, or thinks, or debates, though, know that I support _you_ one-hundred-percent." He leaned down and whispered huskily, "And I look forward to starting that family you hinted at with you."

Lifting her head, Temari felt the buzz of her win, of her accomplishment, fade to the back of her mind at the heated promise in Itachi's eyes. All that excitement would come back tomorrow, of that she had no doubt. And with them would come a measure of doubt, of uncertainty of the wisdom of her choice.

But she would endure, and she'd go through with her retirement. After all, Golden Slam or no, twenty-three Open wins or none, undefeated season or not, Temari had won her greatest victory the day she married Uchiha Itachi.

And nothing could ever convince her otherwise.

 ***~The End~***

 _ **Author's Ending Notes:**_ I knew when I finished _Entanglements_ that I would be writing this story eventually. Temari's story within _Entanglements_ spoke to me so strongly that I knew I had to write it, and I also knew it could be encapsulated into this story, this one important event in her life. I really enjoyed climbing into her head for a while and seeing things through her eyes.

Those of you who are interested in tennis may recognize some parallels to real life in this story. Steffi Graff really _did_ win the one and only Golden Slam on record in 1988 (the year I was born - I so wish I could have seen it!); few have come close, but not matched that pinnacle. The most recent of these ladies was Serena Williams just this past year, though she sadly fell short just before the final match in the US Open. It was incredible to watch her play this year and get so close, and I used a lot of the emotion I felt while watching to channel into this fic, and Temari in particular. I admit I did get pretty emotional a few times while writing _Victory_!

One final tidbit: Karui doesn't have a last name in the manga or anime, so I used the last name of her Japanese voice actress, Komatsu Yuka. I thought it appropriate.

Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and have a safe and happy New Year!


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